Police officer reportedly killed his cousin, then himself

The two people found dead at the scene of a pickup crash in Lee County Sunday died from gunshots, a state official said Thursday.

Tracie Cooper, administrator of the state medical examiner’s office in Roanoke, confirmed Thursday that Bailey S. Smith, 21, of Duffield and Emeri A. Connery, 26, of Coolville, Ohio, each suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Cooper said the manner of death for Smith was listed as suicide after an autopsy earlier this week, while Connery’s manner of death was listed as homicide.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller on Thursday said that investigators have not released additional details since confirming that a weapon that wasn’t Smith’s service pistol was recovered from the GMC truck that crashed in the U.S. 23 median about six miles south of Big Stone Gap.

Smith was an officer with the Big Stone Gap Police Department. Connery was Smith’s cousin.

A state trooper who responded to the crash reported that Smith and Connery were found dead at the scene.